Vehicle barriers are sometimes used to provide access point control by denying unauthorized access to roadways, facilities, and other resources. For instance, vehicle barriers may be used to control access at entrances and exits of facilities and roadways, and to restrict vehicle access to unauthorized areas, such as areas reserved for pedestrian traffic. Vehicle barriers take many forms, including net barriers, cable barriers, wedge barriers, plate barriers, gates, bollards, and others.
Vehicle barriers may be either passive or active in nature. Specifically, passive vehicle barriers are fixed in a closed position where access is continuously denied and active vehicle barriers are configured for selectable actuation between an open position where vehicular access is allowed and a closed position denying vehicular access. Further, vehicle barriers may also be either permanent or portable. Permanent vehicle barriers are typically permanently affixed to the ground where they are installed, such as through cementing the barrier into position. On the other hand, portable barriers are typically not permanently coupled to the ground, and thus may be transported and installed in various locations.
Currently, portable vehicle barriers may suffer from several problems. Specifically, portable vehicle barriers are typically cumbersome to transport, install, and actuate between open and closed positions. For instance, portable vehicle barriers often require relatively high amounts of power to operate, are slow to deploy and retract between open and closed positions, and do not provide adequate protection to the barrier from wear caused by vehicular traffic across or over the barrier when in the open position. Also, these portable barriers may only provide hard impact to a vehicle colliding with it, thus increasing the amount of damage to both the intercepted vehicle and the barrier, as well as increasing the probability and severity of injury to occupants of the intercepted vehicle.